Download Aim: How did powerful emperors unite much of China?

Aim: What characteristics
defined the civilization that
developed in China under
its early rulers?
Do Now: Ancient India Wrap-Up/Review Quiz
Geography Influences Civilization
• Geographic Barriers set
China apart: desert, high
mountain ranges, thick
rainforests, Pacific Ocean
• China includes varied
regions: River Valley, outlying
regions (ex: Mongolia)
• “River of Sorrows”
• Loess: fine windblown yellow
soil
China Under the Shang Dynasty
Shang Dynasty – 1st Chinese Dynasty
1766-1122 BCE
Clans – groups of families who
claim a common ancestor
Social Classes develop
Royal Family
Noble Warriors
Artisans/Merchants
Peasants
Start here
Emperor is
defeated !!
Rebel bands find
strong leader who
unites them.
Attack the emperor.
Poor lose
respect for govt.
They join rebels
& attack landlords.
A new
dynasty
comes to power.
The emperor
reforms the govt.
& makes it more
efficient.
The
Dynastic
Cycle
Droughts,
floods,
famines occur.
Govt. increases
spending;
corruption.
Lives of common
people improved;
taxes reduced;
farming encouraged.
Problems begin
(extensive wars,
invasions, etc.)
Taxes increase;
men forced to
work for army.
Farming neglected.
Dynastic Cycle
• Dynastic Cycle – the rise and fall of dynasties
• Mandate of Heaven - a ruler’s divine right to rule
The Zhou Dynasty - 1122-256 BCE
Promoted idea of Mandate of
Heaven to justify rebellion
against Shang dynasty
China developed into a feudal
state
Feudalism: system of government
in which local lords governed
their own lands but owed military
service and other forms of
support to the ruler
China’s economy grew
Decline: too weak to control
feudal lords
Religious Beliefs Develop
• Early Chinese prayed to many gods and nature spirits
• Shang Di – supreme god; king seen as link between people
and Shang Di
• Ancestry – called on ancestor’s to bring good fortune to the
family
• Offered them sacrifices of food and other necessities
------------------------------------------
• Later on: Confucianism and Daoism
Achievements in Early China
• Silk-making is discovered around
2640 BCE
• Complex Writing Systems –
Oracle Bones with characters
(written symbols)
• Calligraphy – elegant art of
writing
• First Chinese Books under Zhou
Aim: How did
powerful emperors
unite much of China?
Do Now: How did the Mandate of Heaven justify
the changing of dynasties in China?
Comparing Accounts
“Cracking his long whip, he drove the universe before him,
swallowing up the eastern and the western Zhou and
overthrowing the feudal lords.”
-Sima Qian
“The Emperor…rectified the laws, by which all things are
regulated, human affairs are clarified, and fathers and sons
united.
Being sagacious, intelligent, benevolent, and righteous, he
manifested the Way and reason…
All things receive his favor, and live peacefully in their own
abode.”
-Records of the Grand Historian
Qin Dynasty
• 221 BCE-206 BCE
• Shi Huangdi
• First Emperor
• United China
• Legalism:
Chinese
philosophy
created to
strengthen a
state
Gallery Walk Directions
• 1. Ms. Rappoccio will split you into groups with each having a leader.
• 2. You will get 8 minutes at each station – there are 7! When you
hear the timer go off, rotate to the next station following your map.
• 3. Each station has a different task for you to complete AS A GROUP.
There is no individual work during this activity (with the exception of
station 7). Your goal is to have a discussion at each station and work
as a team to complete each activity.
• 4. Once in your groups, if you have a question as you are circulating,
first check with your group members for clarification and if not, call
over Ms. Rappoccio.
Exit Slip
• Under Shi Huangdi,
China saw the rise and
fall of its first empire.
Assess their strengths
and weaknesses.
Predict what will
happen to China now
based on the patterns
we have explored.
Aim: How did the Han dynasty bring
about a golden age of cultural
achievement?
Do Now: Write down the typical characteristics of
a golden age. Be prepared to discuss.
The Han Dynasty
(206 B.C.E – 220 C.E.)
• The Han dynasty began in 206
B.C.E after the collapse of the
Qin dynasty.
• During the Han dynasty, China’s
boundaries were expanded
westward to central Asia, south
to Vietnam, and east into what
is now Korea.
• These boundaries have more or
less defined the nation of China
up to the present day.
Why was Han rule so longlasting?
• The Han dynasty is remembered as a time of glory, unity,
and peace because:
• The hated laws put into place by the Qin emperors were
revoked.
• During the Han dynasty, China was rarely threatened by
barbarians.
• Confucianism spread during this period.
Emperor Wudi
(141 – 86 B.C.E.)
• Emperor Wudi was the most
powerful of the Han emperors.
• He is remembered for his
success in battle.
• Emperor Wudi’s armies kept the
Huns at bay and expanded
China’s boundaries.
• Emperor Wudi established
Confucianism as the official
state ideology of the Han.
Confucianism & the Han Dynasty
• Confucianism: the ethical and
philosophical system developed from
the teachings of the Chinese
philosopher Confucius.
• During Han rule, there was a renewal of
learning.
• Scholars were allowed to read the old
Chinese classics again—the poetry and
history Confucius loved and that influenced
his teachings.
• Emperor Wudi founded a national
university in 124 B.C., where students could
study the great writings of the past.
The Silk Road
• Emperor Wudi’s land conquests
encouraged an increase in overland
trade.
• The Silk Road was over 4,000 miles long
and connected China with Persia.
• Silk was carried along this route by
caravans and then traded in the
markets of Syria and Asia Minor.
• Buddhism came to China with traders
on the Silk Road and became very
popular in the late years of the Han
dynasty.
The Silk Road
The Collapse of the Han
Dynasty
• China’s prosperity declined after Emperor Wudi’s reign came
to an end.
• The later years of the Han dynasty were characterized by
disorder.
• Peasants struggled financially from debts and taxes, and
endured bad harvests, famine and plague. As a result, many
peasants revolted.
• Selfish and corrupt government officials and military leaders
gained power and contributed to the ruin of Han rule.
AIM: What was the importance
of the Silk Road to the Ancient
World?
DO NOW:
What do we get from the Internet?
#1 GLOBALIZATIONa process by which the people of the world
are unified into a single society and
functioning together.
The internet promotes
globalization in the world today.
#2 SILK ROAD - a 4,000 mile trade route that stretched from
China to the Fertile Crescent in southwestern Asia (opened up by
the Han Dynasty)
#3 MERCHANT - a person whose job is to buy, sell &
trade goods. (salesman or businessman)
1. How can we compare the Silk Road to the internet of today?
2. Why do you think the Silk Road was important to global
history?